Cross Traffic, who finished seventh of eight in the Jockey Club Gold Cup after a poor start on Saturday at Belmont Park, on Wednesday was removed from consideration for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita because of what was described as a minor shin injury in a press release from his owners, the GoldMark Farm of T. Paul Bulmahn.

Todd Quast, the general manager of GoldMark, said Cross Traffic would be brought to GoldMark’s Florida farm for evaluation, and “based on those findings make decisions regarding his future.”

Stopchargingmaria can put herself in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with the right kind of performance Saturday in the Frizette at Belmont Park, said her trainer, Todd Pletcher. She will start as one of the top choices in the Grade 1, $400,000 race, led by Sweet Reason.

ARCADIA, Calif. – No Jet Lag faces the toughest turf milers in California in Saturday’s $150,000 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita. It is not the racing program that trainer Simon Callaghan envisioned after No Jet Lag won his American debut in an optional claimer at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Aug. 11.

That race was intended to be a prep for the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 1, but No Jet Lag could not get a berth in the stakes even after the race was divided. A 3-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding, No Jet Lag began his career in England, where he won two minor races in 2012.

Trainer Bisnath Parboo will try to walk a fine line when he sends reigning sprint champion Trinniberg out to make his first start in three months in Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship.

In a single year, the Breeders’ Cup Distaff has gone from one extreme to another.

The 2012 field was the strongest in the 29-year-old history of the Distaff. Seven of the eight starters were Grade 1 winners, including three champions, one of them unbeaten.

The 2013 field is taking shaping as the smallest. Wednesday, the race had three confirmed starters – Royal Delta, Beholder, and Authenticity.

A decision is pending for Cotillion winner Close Hatches; indications are Princess of Sylmar is done for the year.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – If the end justifies the means, well, Ron Moquett will take it. Moquett is looking at the Phoenix Stakes as a way to get his stable star, Gentlemen’s Bet, to the Breeders’ Cup in the best way possible.

Gentlemen’s Bet, despite never having raced on Polytrack, is the lukewarm morning-line favorite in the 161st running of the Grade 3, $200,000 Phoenix on the opening-day Friday card at Keeneland, with a Win and You’re In ticket to the Nov. 2 BC Sprint at Santa Anita at stake.

It’s “just a little $100,000” stakes, as Bob Baffert called it early this week, but the ungraded L.A. Woman Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita could be one of the bigger preps toward the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Baffert said he intended to run both Book Review and Executiveprivelege in the 6 1/2-furlong race, while Ron Ellis also said he will run Teddy’s Promise.

Game On Dude, who bypassed the Awesome Again Stakes on Saturday to train straight into the Breeders’ Cup Classic, picked up the pace of his training on Tuesday morning at Santa Anita with a six-furlong drill in 1:12. It was his third drill since his victory in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar. His previous two drills were at a half-mile.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Big fields have been entered for the two opening-day features – as well as for the other eight supporting races at Keeneland, where the 17-day fall meet will be off and running Friday with a full head of steam.

The Grade 1, $400,000 Darley Alcibiades drew 13 2-year-old fillies for its 62nd running, while an oversubscribed field of 15 sprinters was entered in the Grade 3, $200,000 Phoenix. Like all but two of the other seven graded stakes on the opening three-day FallStars Weekend, they are Win and You’re In preps toward the Nov. 1-2 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – There will be no way to hold back Distinctiv Passion in Saturday’s $250,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship over six furlongs.

“He’s the quickest horse I’ve had in a long time,” trainer Jeff Bonde said.

Distinctiv Passion has won 4 of 8 starts and $191,930 and starts for the first time in a Grade 1 stakes in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. In nearly all of his races, he has led after the opening quarter-mile, all of which have had a fractional time of less than 22 seconds.